Restorative Criminal Justice Movement

Within the judicial and criminal justice systems, restorative justice is seen as a forward moving process in regards to the way in which the sentencing of offenders is handled (Britto & Reimund, 2013). Restorative justice works to focus on the needs of both the victim and the offender but incorporates the community as well as those who support both the victim and offender (Britto & Reimund, 2013). The approach of restorative justice in not simply a means by which society responds to and reduces crime but instead, provides an equivalently valuable social response to crime (Dancig-Rosenberg and Galt, 2013). Furthermore, the restorative approach places emphasis on the personal and relational harms which were caused by the crime while creating space for dialogue concerning the actual damage, whether directly or

Insight Prison Project The definition of restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. In other words, it is some sort of help and comfort for a person who knows their wrongdoing but understands that this isn 't the end of the road for them. As said by In Sight Prison At the center of the Restorative Justice philosophy is the understanding of the importance of engaging victims and prisoners in a healthy way so they can feel empowered and are supported to make meaning out of their experience. Restorative Justice attempts to draw on the strengths of both prisoners and victims, rather than dwelling on their deficits.

Make special arrangements for children and young Offenders, 7. Consider alternative arrangements for parents with dependent children, particularly mothers with Babies, 8. Identify mental illness and drug addiction and divert those affected to appropriate medical, or other care, 9. Reduce sentence lengths and ensure consistent sentencing Practice, and 10. Develop opportunities for parole or other forms of early release and assist prisoners on release to prevent their return to prison.”

Diversion programs have become a prevalent form of justice in the Criminal Justice System. Diversion can be two things; diversion from jail or diversion from the legal system completely. Diversionary programs have been developed in the Criminal Justice System throughout its many levels for a multitude of reasons. Often, they are spurred on by practical concerns including, but not limited to, over-crowded prisons, the high cost of the criminal process, and as an alternative approach to dealing with those suffering from mental illnesses. Diversion may occur both before and after a trial and are aimed at avoiding the trial process (pre-trial) and incarceration (post-trial).

America’s prosecutors where practicable be willing participants in addressing issues of reducing recidivism and ensuring the safety of victims’ and the community. NDAA implemented the following policies position on Prisoner Reentry July 17, 2005 (Association, 2005) Victim reentry issue- the primary focus should be on providing a safe environment for the victims of crime and the community, Victims should be informed about the status of their offenders’, location, notification of projected release date, the person (s) or agency (ies) to contact if questions or concerns arise. How to apply for a protective order application and issuance. Available mental health services.

Secondly, SB 200 addresses timely quality treatment and supervision to hold youth accountable. The bill provides for earlier access to treatment and supervision and increases funding for high quality services in local communities. Thirdly, evaluating the effectiveness of the bill this is done by establishing oversight and performance measurement for the policies. SB 200 covers both major and minor revisions to Juvenile Justice in Kentucky. Prior to SB 200 children with minor offenses are often placed away from their home although they are no risk to public safety.

The Justice Reinvestment Act implemented major changes to the law of sentencing and corrections. “The biggest change since the Structured Sentencing Act (Markham).” The Structured Sentencing Act was somewhat of a precursor for the JRA. This act gave judges a set of standards to follow when sentencing a criminal, with clear guidelines for judges to follow. While also looking after public interest.

The gist of this lawsuit is to provide healthcare for those in prison with mental disabilities. Not providing the right care violates the Eighth Amendment, fourteenth Amendment, and the Rehabilitation Act. The court 's are trying to fix this problem, Schwarzenegger announced that overcrowding prisoner increased the risk of illness and caused and environmental pollution. The court 's remedy was the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which was assembled by the three-judge court to issue an inmate 's release order, That was not the only remedy the court used to try to fix the problem they also tried to change the prison health care system.

In 1999, a mental health court was established to therapeutically manage mentally ill people accused of a crime (King County TV, 2010). Unlike a conventional court system, a behavioral health court treats a mentally ill individual with more respect and understanding. According to King County TV (2010), mentally ill clients can propose to be placed in a mental health court system because it will allow them to have a chance to recover. However, when the client is not compliant with the plan of care given to them, he or she could be placed in jail if there is a possibility the

The victim deserves similar level of protection and attention from the court like that of an accused i.e. a victim 's interests need to be balanced vis-à-vis that of accused. Victims of crime go through mental and physical trauma and suffer throughout their lives , as there place in the society changes. A victim is certainly entitled to reparation, restitution and safeguards of his rights and criminal justice would look hollow if justice is not done to the victim of the crime. In recent years, the Legislature and the judiciary have taken gradual steps to develop the necessary principles by which appropriate compensation could be paid to the victims of crimes. The gradual shift in the approach of the Supreme Court is a positive sign but other organs i.e. the government and the legislature have to make conscious efforts to consider the rights of the victims.

This quote talks about the number one way court systems chose to handle delinquents, which one can use to describe the juvenile court system and its punishments. One can also correlate this quote with the other one above, which talks about how juvenile systems work primarily with the idea of family. This quote enables one to prove that jail time only makes a child more likely to turn to criminal activities. Thus, allowing for one to prove a rebuttal wrong in saying prison teaches a child a lesson, which needs to learned and corrected. When in reality, adult prisons teach a child how to commit more crimes by turning their backs against the court systems.

In this sense, advocates of rehabilitation see the opportunity to use the criminal justice system as part of a larger social welfare”(Wright, 2012, p. 1.6). Correctional professionals can use criminal theory to help them understand why certain criminals do and commit the crimes they have. With criminal theory there are many different theories as to why criminals become criminals. If correctional professionals were to take a class on understanding criminal behavior or criminal theory I honestly believe that it would help them in understanding how to help certain inmates achieve rehabilitation or self confidence. When trying to understand why people commit crimes, correctional professionals should have an understanding on how to treat and take care

One being classification. This allows for the varied differences in prisoners. (Schmalleger & Gmykla, 2015). This promotes public safety and offender safety. External classification involves the security level and Internal classification involves housing placement in prison based on the criminals background and individual needs.

2.Restorative justice moves from a philosophy of vengeance and retribution to one of healing, reconciliation, and forgiveness. In contrast to the traditional criminal justice that focuses on the punishment of the offender. Restorative justice focuses on victims, offenders, and the community throughout the whole process of restoring justice. As a result, restorative justice can be applied to community-based sanction or to prisoner re-entry. In addition, within the traditional criminal justice system, the state acts on behalf of victims to punish an offender, making them feel angry, unsupported, socially isolated, and distrustful of a system that was designed to protect them.

The criminal justice system does many things for our society. It provides us with a place to put criminals. It acts as a rehabilitation center for those criminals so that when they come out of jail or prison they can reintegrate into society. The criminal justice system provides us with a forum in which we can solve disputes legally which is the court system. It also acts as a deterrence for potential future offenders by putting someone in jail or prison.